DRAGLINE

INTRODUCTION
• Dragline falls under heavy equipment’s category.
• Draglines are used in surface mines and also in civil engineering
projects.
• Dragline is the largest equipment ever built on this planet. It has the
ability to excavate very deep down the earth.
• Word ‘drag’ is used because it has the ability to drag material at far
distance from the machine.
• The dragline is a typical combined cyclic excavator and material carrier, since it both excavates
material and dumps it without the use of trucks or conveyor belts.
• The dragline sits above the waste or overburden block, usually 50m or so wide, on the highwall side
and excavates the material in front of itself, to dump it on the low-wall or spoil side.
• This is very advantageous when earth is removed from a ditch, canal or pit containing water.
OPERATION OF DRAGLINE
• The Dragline has a long boom with a bucket capacity ranging from 15 to 50 cum.
• It can swing in 360 degrees, after dragging the loose material below its level.
• It swings normally between 90 to 120 degrees and side cast the material in to the
decoaled area.
• The nomenclature of the Dragline usually called as 24/99 which means 24 cum is the
bucket capacity and 96 m is the boom length.
Dragline Powered Functions
• Digging is accomplished by pulling the
bucket toward the machine while regulating
the digging depth by means of the tension
maintained in the hoist chain.
• When the bucket is filled, the operator pulls
the hoist chain while swinging for dumping.
• The bucket is so constructed that it will not
dump material until the drag chain tension
is released.
• Hoisting, swinging and dumping the loaded bucket follow in that order; then the cycle is repeated.
• An experienced operator can cast the excavated material beyond the end of the boom.

• Largest Dragline available at present:

*P7H 9020XPC (walking type) – Boom length : 100 – 130m

Bucket capacity : 85 to 122 m3
Weight : 7539 – 8002 tones

*Cat 8750 (walking type) - Boom length : 132.5m

Bucket capacity : 76 to 116 m3
Weight : 5800 – 7500 tones
LOADING MATERIAL
• In a typical cycle of excavation, the bucket is positioned
above the material to be excavated.
• The bucket is then lowered and the dragrope is then drawn
so that the bucket is dragged along the surface of the
material.
• The bucket is then lifted by using the hoist rope
• A swing operation is then performed to move the bucket to
the place where the material is to be dumped.
• The dragrope is then released causing the bucket to tilt and
empty.
 COMPONENTS OF DRAGLINE
• Base
• Revolving Frame and Slewing Machinery
• Bucket
• Bucket suspension system
• Boom
• Hoist and drag units
• Fair lead
• Walking Mechanism
• Superstructure
• The dragline comprises a main machinery house
(rotating house), a main structure (A-frame, mast and
boom), a bucket, a base and walking shoes.
• The rotating house rides upon the rollers mounted on the
base. The revolving motion is achieved by swing pinions
meshing with a large swing rack.
• The dragline is able to “walk” by means of large
eccentrically driven walking shoes at the sides of the
machine.